Jibikao

Plant/Fire is one fine farming build too. Once you get perma dom, you can farm so easily with Seeds of Confusion. Just remember to take Ice Mastery for Freezing Rain which debuffs a lot of resistance for you. Plant/Fire/Ice FTW!

As for Crab, you can't really go wrong with it as long as you take the defensive toggles and shields. Crab is a mini-tank and pets can do quite a bit of damage for him since his ST damage is on the lower side.

That's the problem... why does Stalker need 6 teammates to do good damage considering stalker has less aoe and less health?

Condition 1: Stalker needs 6 members within 30' radius all the time to do similar Scrapper damage.

Condition 2: Stalker needs hidden status and assassin strike to do more burst damage in the first 10s.

Facts that are not mentioned in your post: Scrapper has secondaries that can add more damage (Shield charge, Grant Cover, fiery embrace, Burn, DoT aura) and Primary powers like Follow Up that can stack damage buff.

Yes, Stalker's damage is what I consider "low" when you factor in all the conditions Stalker need to meet first. However, being "lower" damage doesn't mean it's not playable. I still like Stalkers. I just have this Love & Hate relationship with them. In fact, character transfer is now on sale for $4.99 and I am going to transfer my lvl 50 Db/Nin and lvl 47 Elec/Will from Virtue to Freedom.

Stalker can deal less damage than others but the Assassin-ability needs to be a lot better than the current system with 4s interruptable low damage. Yup, I think Assassin Strike damage is low because without Build Up, you can't even take down a +1 Lieut in the end. Hell, even with Build Up, you can't take down any Lieut with decent S/L resistance.

So Fireball has 100% critical chance from hidden? Are you sure about this?

Where do you see that info? I know Mids' info on Stalker Epic is bugged. The numbers shown are way higher. Fireball from Epic should only deal the same basic damage as Ball of Lightning but with extra dot damage. Ball of Lightning has 50% critical chance from hidden.

Fireball has 100% critical chance?

Well, on my lvl 51 MA, I rarel use Assassin Strike. I think I've used BU + AS twice during 6 runs of BAF. Those ambushes have dot fire damage on the ground so I don't even bother re-positioning myself for AS. I just use Eagle Claw for burst damage.

And no, you are not the only one feeling this way. At lvl 50, I won't feel my performance is inferior without Assassin Strike. It's a good burst damage that comes with a lot of restrictions. For that setup time, you can also do something else.

You really think so? A Bane (even though is kinda slow) offers a lot of team buffs and resistance debuffs. I carry out double maneuver, assault, and use shatter armor and surveillance.

My Bane finally solo a pylon the other day with no pet and no envenomed dagger and just alpha cardiac for endurance (which is a big plus I know). My Martial Arts Stalker (supposedly the highest ST damage set) still can't take down 50% until I run out of inspirations/endurance and die.

Damage-wise, my Bane feels way better than any of my Stalker. AoE-wise, my bane build only has Venom and Crowd Control.

ST-damage wise, maybe DM Stalker can match but I still find it hard to believe Stalker with no team-critical buff can out-damage a Bane. I mean DM is so single-target with just one minor cone. I have a tier 3 alpha Kin/Dark and while the damage is decent, Bane still offers way more to the team and that's why I say Bane is superior than Stalker in almost every way.

Which test has shown this? I am curious to read because I firmly believe Scrapper's damage is higher than Stalker 90% of the time even with a large team but Stalker's advantage is having the ability to delivery better burst damage in the first 10s and can control one critical damage through Placate.

There used to be a chart and Stalker with 7-team member critical buff is still only 6-7% higher potential dps than Scrapper but that requires 7-members within 30 radius all the time. And this info doesn't include Scrapper's ability to stack buffs (follow up attack), Fiery Embrace and secondary dot damage and the fact that Scrapper benefits more from damage buff.

Stalker survives better in my experience but that's because Stalker naturally just doesn't attract that much aggro. One can see it as a benefit and one can see it as a negative. But then again, I never have much issue with Stalker's survival.


And it's really not just Scrapper damage comparison. When you compare Stalker's damage against VEAT, it's sad. Even a Soldier can out dps a Stalker alone.

In normal circumstances, the game is easy enough that Stalker's design is what I would consider "fine". It's definitely playable but other ATs just have better damage potential. I mean what would you consider the absolute best Stalker damage potential? Single Target, is probably either Dark Melee or MA. AoE-wise, it's Spine or Electricity.

I agree with this after making another Stalker to 50 (MA/Will).

I dare say of all Villains, Stalker ranks ON AVERAGE 2nd LAST place (only a head of Mastermind because MM's dps has too many factors) in terms of dps "potential".

Corruptors, while not doing as much raw damage in most cases (except after FS or heavy debuffs), they can add a lot of support to the team and their support force-multiplies.

This occurs to me after I made a Soldier build and a simple Single Shot, Burst and Bayonet has better dps than my MA Stalker. It is very very sad.

My perma Dom Gravity/Fiery/Ice has way higher dps "potential" than Stalker.

Night Widow, Bane and Crab (with pets) easily out dps Stalker while bringing buffs/debuffs to the team.

Brute actually doesn't out damage Stalker that much but Super Strength is still hard for Stalker to beat.

Stalker can't out damage Scrapper and Blaster. Scrapper's damage potential is way higher than Stalker and with less restrictions/conditions.


I don't play HEATs enough to know their dps but I know my Stalker out-damage Peacebringer at lvl 32.

Troller has certain combos that have very high damage potential. And Defenders can force-multiply too.


Stalker's dps potential should be one of the highest. The fact that this "Assassin" AT has less dps is not right. Both Assassin Strike and Placate don't necessarily increase your dps.

LOL same here! I took out my lvl 50 MA/Will Stalker last Sunday and did 6 runs and I got at least two Rares and two Very Rares. My Stalker wasn't even level shift in the first 4 runs. I have no idea what determines because I know in terms of contribution, my Stalker didn't bring much.

In comparison to my Soldier/Bane, they bring way more to the team and yet they have not gotten one Very Rare after 10 runs.

My Stalker has the most Very Rare and it's just after 6 runs.

It's going to be too much work to change/add animations but I agree that Mace feels better with two-hands.

Maybe we'll see a true two-handed weapon set that features "extra reach" at the expense of slower animation (Spear, Pole-arm, 2H Mace, 2H Axe).

Correction: Bane is a SUPERIOR Stalker. I just solo a pylon with Bane (without using pets because they just die when I get close). My Martial Arts/Will Stalker (supposedly the highest ST Damage set) can barely take down 15% of pylon's health.

Your Bane has the option to do good burst damage with Surveillance + BU + Shatter (not as strong as Assassin Strike but you don't need to wait for interruptable 4s either), offer great team buffs and resistance debuffs.

Looking through your build quickly... the only advice I would give is Take Venom Grenade. Yes, I know it belongs to the Wolf branch but Venom Grenade is arguably Soldier's best team attack. Its radius is large and it debuffs 20% resistance quickly.

Well, as far as damage goes, Stalker is not going to impress you. You may be impressed at lvl 6 when you first got Assassin Strike. That's about it.

Electric Melee is actually a very good set on Stalker because the only power it loses is Thunder Clap which many don't take. Stalker doesn't lose any aoe and you get to keep your Hidden status after Lightning Rod hits.

As far as secondary goes, Willpower is a good choice but I would also consider /SR or /Nin because defense works better on a toon that has the lowest HP of all melee ATs.

If your goal is to level every AT to 50, then Electricity is a good choice because it at least gives you some incentive to level to 33 to slot up Lightning Rod.

Pointers? Don't take Placate too early. I know many disagree with me but you are better off having one more attack than taking Placate and don't ignore your secondary either. Part of the reason people say Stalker has survival issue is that they take mostly offensive powers early on and they lack survival. In fact, your only 100% critical attack is Havoc Punch which isn't exactly a big punch. If you only solo, then Placate + Assassin can be useful. I just can't stand the set-up time but then again, I've played Stalker way too much. I guess you should try Placate + Assassin Strike first to form your opinion.

Have fun.

Well, I don't agree they quit "for good" because I've tried other games and they are certainly not better. CoX is still by far the most team-friendly game with many tools to help you make friends (auto side-kick, share reward, global friends, emails, etc).

They can add more end-game content but just don't make too one-sided. Right now, you can just do trials to unlock Alpha slot that would have taken you a lot longer if you tried to unlock doing the specific SFs or farming Shards.

I see a bit of AE Farming-madness right now in Pocket D. I still remember when AE came out, it was soooooooooo easy to find a team in Cap because so many people just camp there for AE mission. Then the dev nerfed it and people start doing other things to spread out the population.

I agree. My Stalker did a few weekly SFs before i20 came out and he barely just got the first tier Musculature alpha. I then used him for the new SF in Sharks but I only got 2 shards.

Then I took him to Pocket D and did about 5 runs of BAFs on Saturday morning and he is now tier 3 alpha. The time it would take for him to get shards is way longer than just joining a PUG in pocket D. The trials are not even hard (yes I know I wasn't contributing much!).

I really like the specific Alpha piece dropped in different SF and Weekly SF because at least you are doing different SF every week to make it more interesting. And hopefully they can add more trial content soon.


What I am worried about is that they'll introduce another currency when more Incarnate Abilities are introduced because what make them think people are not hoarding Threads/Salvages for the future Abilities (using the same logic as hoarding Shards).

Good to know. Will forward this to my friend in global chat.

It's not the same circumstances. If you don't do the two trials, it will take FOREVER to get the new abilities. Have you tried to convert your Shards? Many of my lvl 40s don't have IOs and while they are not as strong, they certainly are not "useless". And I have no problem with people who spend more time beefing up their toons with sets. They spend more time, so they deserve to be stronger.

I share my friend's feeling here because he doesn't post and I am not like him. I share some of his concerns but I have no problem PUGs or forming large teams. I do that all the time in Pocket D. However, I can see how some people may get annoyed by the current trial system.

Forming a very large team has down sides.
1. It doesn't always mean the content is going to be harder. You just need more people. So is the requirement to get new abilities = having just more people or having team(s) that play well together?

2. It is super lag-fest and tons of crashes. In Lamba, I must have crashed 10 times during the 2nd phase which results in not getting enough Grenade/Acid in time. The worst is after the 2nd phase, those that have Acid/grenade crash which result in the team not having enough to destroy the doors asap. Lamba is harder merely because of "technical difficulties" if you ask me. In BAF, even if you lose one or two, you won't feel it. In Lamba, you do because they may have the grenade/acid that you need.

3. It may take a long time to find a large/full team. Sometimes finding 8-people is hard enough in certain zones. It is easy in pocket d as the content is fresh.

This is the problem with most pets now. Some pets used to just sit back and shoot and perform well but now it seems every pet goes in when the range attack is recharging. In some ways it improves dps but in A LOT of ways it hurts your dps because pets just simply can't survive heavy aoe.

My stand on melee pet is still the same. If they can't survive one or two hits in melee range, then they have no business going in. Yes, Ninjas, I am talking about you!


I just made a Ninja/Dark recently and I've noticed at lvl 5 that there is another buggy pet behavior. Several times I would find a target at long range and click Attack and the Genin would just stand there. I haven't played Ninja for a long time and I did not notice this behavior on Genin before. Genins used to be the most aggressive pets out there by shooting throw starts and kicking nonstop but now I have to either goto them closer or wait for the mobs to get closer to me. I don't know if it's the combination of bad layout in Mercy island and the behavior but Congrats on making the Ninjas even more worse.

And when are they going to fix Oni!! He DOES NOT HAVE ANY KNOCKBACK ATTACK AND PLEASE GIVE HIM HOLD OR IMMB SET. I've submitted 3-4 Bug reports and PM Black Scorpian about this. I PMed Castle before and he acknowledged the bug. This is not just some secondary patron who-cares-about pets that have wrong IO set assigned to. This is the freaking BOSS pet in Ninja Primary set!!


They made Jounins a bit better but at the same time, they made Oni a lot worse. Before the Pet AI change, Oni would ALWAYS start the fight with Breath of Fire. This makes Smoke Flash on him a lot better because you can predict when he is going to use Breath of Fire by counting 16s recharge. But now, Oni just uses Breath of Fire randomly. His behavior is the most unpredictable of all and it's annoying. Ninja set needs a serious over-haul on their Survival and AI issues. Whatever they do on Ninja, it's always one step forward and two steps back. It's never just one big step forward.

Exploding Star is a great additional to Genin but because of the AI change, Genins go melee even more frequent than before, which means they die even more easier. Before the change, Genins may only have two long range Arrow attacks so sometimes they would just stand on the back shooting arrows. It's bad dps but it's better than zero dps produced from their death.


I want to like Ninja a lot but man, their Risk vs Reward ratio is sooooo out of whack. By being the most squishy and most melee-oriented set, they certainly don't give you a lot of reward in return for better dps or tanking or whatever.

I am not my friend but I think he is more worried about the "direction" of the so-called End-game content than what is happening right now. He WANTS to get the new abilities as he has invested so much time/money/effort into the game for the past 6 years. He just doesn't want to join a large-size Trials. It's the idea that he is forced to join a Larger-Than-8-People team worries him. Hell, even 8-people team seems like a harsh restriction sometimes... lol

Incarnate Abilities should be more accessible than just doing the trials. For the past two nights, I did two SFs (one is the new villain SF in sharks and one is the new TF in IP) and the total # of Shards I got is 4-5. I can't imagine how long it's going to take to get new abilities by just doing SFs on a "typical pace". By "typical", I mean doing SFs for the purpose of beating it rather than farming the same SF (like ITF) on the lowest setting x 8. Lowest setting SF puts me to sleep.

From my experiences:

1. Some mobs are programmed to go after certain things like Lowest HP, Lowest Level or Mastermind himself. There are ambushes that will only target the Master and not the Pets. These ambushes are usually in Mayhem. I've tested this before. You can literally hide in the corner and send your pets 100ft away and they will still only attack you.

2. Some ambushes are programmed to target the Mission holder first. Some tip mission ambushes goes after me first all the time but after that, the aggro is re-directed.

3. I was teaming with a Corr the other day and I was doing a Villain tip. The mission requires me to kill Overdriver and then that woman with lady shows up. During that ambush, that woman ONLY went after the Corr. I did everything I could to draw aggro away but couldn't. Needlessly to say the Corr died and quit. lol This is weird because I was the Mission holder. So it could be true that certain mobs are programmed to target the lowest HP which isn't Stalker.


All in all, my Stalker has no survival issue because I naturally just don't attract that much aggro. During that Inferno fight, I was toe to toe against him until his health is below 15%. Some AVs are programmed to run whenever his health is low or when he has too much debuffs on him (which means he senses that the situation is "dangerous") unless you have Taunt to keep him in place. The best example is the AV in ITF. If you don't have any Brute/Tanker to keep taunting the General(s), they will run like girls. I've done ITF with my Stalker as the main melee and my Bane. Both of them do not generate "taunt" when attacking.

I have opposite experience. My Stalker can't draw enough aggro when I want to. We were doing the new SF (lvl 20-40) and I was the only melee AT and I have trouble keeping Inferno still in the end. I didn't even dare to use Placate 'cause I want to keep the aggro on me.

As for Assassin Strike, its high damage could draw some attention but it is still only single target. The AoE fear may attract some attention after it fears off but nothing major. I have yet to draw aggro away from a Tanker or Brute.

That's what I thought but no, Scrapper will still out-damage Stalker because Scrapper's build up (100% buff) is stronger, Scrapper has secondary that gives more damage (dot), more damage buff (fiery embrace) and stacking follow-up from Claw/Dual Blade will allow Scrapper to well exceed the normal Stalker Build up (which is 80% buff). And if there's any team damage buff, Scrapper will enjoy more due to higher base damage. And remember, not every Stalker attack can do critical damage.

But Stalker can easily skip mobs to objective....


And not just comparing to Scrapper, Night Widow can easily out damage Stalker.


However, I would classify Stalker AT as "fair" because other ATs sometimes feel boring because they are too strong. I have fun playing Stalker. I work harder for my kills.